At present, in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the standardization process of LTE, the next-generation wireless communication standard, is in progress so as to further improve the performance of wireless communications. In LTE, examination has been conducted to improve coverage by the introduction of base stations other than macro eNodeBs, such as Home eNodeBs (femtocell base stations, or small base stations for mobile phones), Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), pico eNodeBs, or the like. Such next generation wireless communication is disclosed in, for example, JP 2011-521512A.
Also, in LTE Rel-10, an interference control method called Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) has been standardized. An ABS is a subframe which limits transmission other than a reference signal from a macro eNodeB in some subframes, or a subframe in which transmission other than a reference signal from a macro eNodeB is limited. A subframe set as an ABS may reduce interference with respect to a received signal of a user equipment (UE) belonging to a pico eNodeB located within a cell a macro eNodeB provides. Also, setting the same subframe between neighboring macro eNodeBs has been proposed.